Black Compass
by As If You Cared
Summary: A story of what might've been, a dark continuation of Kullervo's mind controllish powers, applied to the unknowing. AU/Dark Fic. Swearing. Violence.
1. When you play with fire

I stared at the clock in the class, but as much as I willed it, it would not go faster. I thought, for what was probably the millionth time what was going to happen when I got back to my house, I was going to while away another hour till he could go to survival training. Not that it interested me particularly there was 4 lessons; Food, Shelter, Water, Fire. He had listened almost half heartedly to the other parts, but today was the lesson that interested him, Fire.

A few seconds passed, and inexplicably my gaze was drawn to the guys I liked to think of as the 'usual suspects', he used to have a girlfriend, but he had seen less and less of her ever since she joined the society or something. I figured she was probably cheating on somone at that place, I'd thought about asking to join them, but i didnt honestly think that she was worth the total loss of all street cred. I mean the only guy there who you could call reasonably cool was Col, he snorted those guys wouldnt last 5 minutes on the streets or in a fight. It would probably be a bit unjust to call them guys though, most of them were girls, as far as I could tell, it was ironic that the person who was most like him was one of them. Rat or something, they'd had such different bringing ups and almost every thing was different from me to him, yet it had ended up with the end product . Two guys who liked the night and nature, misfits who hate school, liked dogs too. He had one large bastard in his bus, or at least I think it's his, I've only seen it in that place he lives.

"BUUUUUZZ BUUUUUUUZZZ" the buzzer interrupted my thoughts with a scare. I flew backwards and cracked my head on the desk behind, I cursed under my breath as I picked myself in the face of raucous laughter from my class mates. Somone shouted an insult in my direction to I shot him daggers and mimed slitting his throat, he gulped and slid into his chair, obviously remembering what happened to the last kid who'd had that one mimed to him, 3 broken bones and 3 months out of school. That one was for an insult towards his parents, that helped bring the steely glint back to his grey eyes. A few minutes later, I and all the others in his class were going home, for most homework and TV would fill the remaining hours. For me however it would be diffrent.

When I reached the door of my house, I sighed and unlocked the door, then I slammed the heavy oak door shut. I quickly activated the lights and grabbed my zippo, I nonchalantly began opening and closing it as I walked up the marble stairs of my empty house to my bedroom where I slipped into some designer frayed jeans and his favourite hoodie and black baseball cap. I looked out of the window and saw a face obscured by a cap and hoodie with empty grey eyes with messy strands of blonde hair obscuring even them, I smirked as I recognised the face as my own.

* * *

so what do you think? this is my first story and i have some ideas to continue it, but revieiws would be helpful, if i get 3 good ones ill make another chapter. (3 is my second luckiest number to 13)


	2. Faces In The Fire

I pulled myself away from my reflection and realised that if I walked to the camp, I wouldn't have to sit around doing nothing for yet another hour. So I raced downstairs in my socks, but I slipped on the marble and slid down the rest of the stairs on my ass, I let out a stream of expletives at the bottom of the steps whilst rubbing my back. I gritted my teeth and walked towards the door when something caught my eye, it was the family crest. A black circle on a red shield, 4 daggers coming to point however the thing that mystified him was the way each dagger was so alike yet so different. The dagger to the north had a crystal on the handle, which was pouring out representatives of the five elements. Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Energy. The one on the east looked like the symbol of the SAS, a winged dagger. The dagger to the south had a snake wrapped round the blade, its open mouth instead where a pommel should be. The last one was weird, from a distance it looked like a normal dagger but when you looked real close you could see all these things in the rut of the blade, horses that kind of thing. Underneath it all was the family motto: Mortem afferror sum, veni salta mecum.

I dragged my gaze from the crest to the clock and sighed, thank god time was on my side this time, and I slipped out the door and locked it behind me, as I walked out I saw two figures walking past my house, I noticed somthing weird about the one who I thought was the guy. I shrugged it off and carried on walking down the street in the general direction of Malins Wood, I spyed another couple kissing on a bench, I smiled as I realised one of them was Col, I noticed that whoever he was kissing had the same screwed eyes as him. I gritted my teeth as I realised I was the only one today who wasnt with there special one, but I forced myself to calm down and just carry on towards the camp.

I arrived at the camp a few minutes early, and saw Mrs Khalid gathering wood for the fire

"Aaron?" Mrs Khalid said

"Hmm" I replied, Then I nodded my head and looked at her questioningly.

"Sorry to be a bother but could you help me find some wood, I'm having a bit of trouble finding any suitable wood." She asked, almost reluctantly

I shrugged and agreed, I trodged through the sodden mud looking for something that wasnt soaked or covered in mushrooms, just Liam arrived i found a pile of charred wood with another pile of perfect wood next to it. I stuck my finger in the ashes.

"Still warm" I murmured to myself, lost in thought.

"Mrs?" I shouted in the direction of the squelches behind me

"Yes?" she replied

"Did you see any smoke about 20 or so minutes ago?" I asked her. She stopped suddenly, I heard her reply that she hadn't, but i wasnt convinced by the tone of her voice. She's lying. The thought hit me in the way a sledgehammer smashes a stone, it splintered into loads of other thoughts, each more jagged and disjointed than the last. but there was one question that lingered, Why? I shrugged it off and headed back towards the camp with my hoard in hand. I dropped it by the pile Mrs had left, and watched fascinated at what she was making, I looked away after a few seconds to see who else was here. I was surprised to see that only Liam was here, he was a little younger than me, i asked him what had happened to the others.

"Seems that the rest of our guys parents didnt sign for this part of the course" he said with a smirk

* * *

**Halfway Through The Lesson**

I was staring into the fire I'd just built with sticks from the older fire, when suddenly a figure appeared in the flame, my eyes became saucers

"what the Efff..." I whispered to myself, I heard a childish giggle in my head, I blinked twice and it was gone.

"I'm Losing my mind" I muttered to myself as i began to build the fire bigger

* * *

well guys, howzat?

umm yay? hope this is better than last time.

please reveiw

virtual cookie to those who find easter eggs


	3. Notes and Jokes

I walked into class looking at my feet, hoping and praying that no-one would see me as I slipped through the door into my first class, I was almost at my desk….

"And what time do you call this sonny?" Asked Mr. Summers. Damn it so close.

"Urmmmmmmm" I said, unable to look at my teacher in the eyes.

"Well you'd better sit down, and try to listen this time, unless you want to fail your maths exam" He told me sternly. I dragged myself towards my seat, with a defeated look in my eyes I sat on one of the empty beaten up wooden stools that littered the classroom like bark chippings. I opened the heavily grafittied textbook to the page indicated on the whiteboard and sighed, it was shape, I hated shape. A few minutes passed until I got a note with pass to Col written on it, I thought about it for a second, but I let it go and just passed it on. After staring frustratedly at the book, willing them to make sense, but nothing happened. After what seemed like hours trying to occupy myself,( and pretending to think when the teacher looked at me, I swear he knew I didn't give two craps about the work.) another note was passed to me, this one labelled Connie. This time however he succumbed to temptation and opened the folded piece of paper

_**To Pega-Boy**_

_**Course ill see you after school, Devils Tooth?**_

_**Love**_

_**Univ-Girl**_

I refolded the note perfectly and passed it back on, looking around to see if anyone had caught me, teacher or other wise. Even if they had I couldn't wait till the next one, this would help me pass the time, I made a mental note to sit between them next lesson too.A few moments passed before I snuck a glance towards who I thought was Connie, and noticed her eyes, one green one brown. Just like Col, what are the chances on that? One in a million. I was pulled out of my thoughts as quickly as they had occurred to me, by the buzzer, I was startled but fortunately it wasn't a repeat of yesterday, I mentally smiled to myself and shuddered at the same time.

I walked with the crowd of the people to the next class, however when I saw we were going I groaned, it was science. I seriously loved the practical but I knew there was no way we'd have one today, we've got to do a mid term assessment, which like every other non-nerd I hadn't revised. I walked through the door as if it was a portal to hell, and was surprised and relieved to see that there were no papers on the desks.

"I'm sorry class but today we cant do the test today, it seems the idiots who run the board decided it would be funny to not send me the god damn pape-" said Miss Gabriel, who was quickly interrupted by a massive roar of triumph in the class.

"Okay Okay, settle down class" she said calming down the class. I saw Shirley sit next to Col, between him and me, I nudged the person next to me

"What" He hissed, grinding his teeth loudly as I pointed towards Shirley

"So" He replied, obviously irritated

"Remember what we learnt in drama" I whispered

"Yeah, what about it?" he asked

"2 words, Fem Fatale" I said smirking. I saw his cheeks bulge as he tried to contain his laughter, but failed completely and burst out laughing. The teacher looked at him sternly and that help contain him for all of two seconds before he burst out into a fresh round of raucous laughter. He slowly began to regain control before I saw him gaze at Shirley and start laughing again, he began to get quite a few odd looks from others, and managed to control himself back to a wobbly smile.

After a while of battling sleep and death by boredom in the face of miss's monotonous droning about plants or something I got a note with Connie written on the front, I opened hastily, anxious for some release from the boredom of the lesson.

_**To Univ-Girl**_

_**Do you mind if I bring Skylark? I haven't ridden with him recently and I need to see him. How's Agrand?**_

_**Luv**_

_**Pega-Boy**_

_**P.s the answer to Q.5 is chlorophyll, I saw you stuck and it figured **_

The note was obviously written on paper torn from his work book, not that I cared as I carefully folded it back up and passed it back on to the next in line when my neighbour was looking the other way. Thoughts were rattling around in my head after that, Skylark and Agrand, who were they? No one goes by those names, at least as far as I know, I shrugged it off and copied the awnser down. I leant back in my chair deep in thought when.

"Hey dreamer" said the guy next to me, clicking his fingers in my face "class is over, you'd better get out of here quick, unless you've suddenly lost interest in the internet" I swore and jumped out of my seat and grabbed my bag and looked at him with a maniacal glint in my eye

"hah, I could get there before you, even with a minute headstart" I said with a sneer in my voice.


	4. The Malestrom

I ran down the final hallway, my shoes screeching on the rubber tiled floor, leaving many black marks to join the hundreds of others that layered the floor like squashed bugs. I could hear him closing the gap behind me, I could hear the squeaks of his own shoes just behind me, only overshadowed by my laboured breathing. I looked behind me, a lopsided grin plastered on my face. I looked at his face in curiosity, his features contorted with horror, I saw him begin to shout something. Then a sickening crunch filled my ears followed with a ringing noise, my eyes crunched up as I felt a warm liquid drip down my face, and then…… nothing, blackness, silence.

Connie walked through the corridors aimlessly, well not quite, she was looking for Col. The canteen had been shut for cleaning. She heard sirens (the man-made kind) in the distance, but thought nothing of it until she heard a scream just ahead of her; she quickly doused all thoughts of Col as she rushed to find out what the commotion was about. She stopped suddenly to raise her shield when she felt a light presence in her mind and repelled it, she shook herself and carried on, more determined than ever as she had a strange feeling that it came from the direction of the noise. Her eyes grew wide as she saw a limp body being taken away on a stretcher, an oxygen mask obscuring his face. Her gaze drifted to the splatter of red and grey on the wall, radiating from a nail that stuck out from the gritty wall

I was standing on an island, black cloud was hanging overhead like an evil fog, and the surrounding waters were raging as if there was a violent storm brewing. The golden sands were flecked with reds and greys. I looked over my self and found that I was bruised and scraped but nothing serious. Then the realisation hit me as a roll of thunder sparked through the sky, this was my subconscious, my mind. I shook myself and looked across the horizon and saw a silver orb in the far distance, it looked like the rising sun in my world, I wondered what it was. Hope? Death? I had no way of knowing so I decided to try and sleep,.

Connie waited In the sterile room, hoping to be let through, she may have hated the feel of medical alcohol on her hands but she was sure he was a companion, Even if he wasn't she felt sure that there was something she could do.

"Miss Lionheart?" asked the nurse

"Yes" she replied hopefully

"You can go through now, but I must warn you he probably cant hear you" the nurse said

"I don't think that's going to be a problem" she said under her breath.

She walked into the white tiled room and was immediately repulsed by a wave of that antiseptic. She shrugged it off and looked at the limp and pale form collapsed on the bed in front of her, she gulped down the bile rising in her throat as she saw the tubes connecting him to a life support machine, she slowly reached out and tentatively entered his mind. She squinted, a fog was covering her view, something was seriously wrong. She gasped in a mixture of horror and wonder as the maelstrom of his mind was revealed as the aura of silver light that surrounded her pierced the choking fog, she looked, trying to find him.

I opened my minds eye in an instant, something was different, there was something else. Something new. I lifted my arm and noticed an almost ghostly after trail of black smoke that drifted from my mindself. I looked towards the horizon towards where the silver glow was when I fell asleep, I jumped up, it was gone, I turned around trying to find it. I saw it again to the left of me, nearly at the edge of the isle I tried to shout, but my throat wouldn't work. Suddenly the light began to dissipate and a silhouette emerged, as the after glow finally disappeared I saw that it was Col's "girlfriend" I swore in a mixture of disbelief and surprise. Well tried to any way, my throat still wouldn't work.

She looked at the the figures mindself first in relief at finding him, then in shock and horror as his arm moved and it wasn't that he could move, it was the ghostly smoke his body left. Then he lunged for her leg she instinctively jumped back but couldn't get far enough and he grabbed her ankle. She screamed in pure animal terror as a flash of white light flooded her view. She woke up in the centre of her mind opposite the mark of Kullervo. A form slowly began forming down the corridor, condensing from black smoke like a mind ghost. She hurriedly brought the universals shield but he just walked through it as if it wasn't there, she stood there stunned into inactivity, that had never happened. She shook herself and brought her bow to bear she put in a weak bolt from storm-bird, hoping it would shock him out of her mind. She pulled back on the string, hoping against hope that this would work, she hadn't the strength or the time to summon another weapon. She released the bolt and watched fly straight and true, directly though the ghostly figure body. She felt a jolt of pain course through her exhausted body as the arrow bit into the wall, she suddenly remembered about the minotaur, why hadn't he arrived? That thought was quenched as he walked straight through her

I couldn't stop myself, it was like something was controlling me, I somehow knew what I was going to and I was appalled but I was like a zombie. My arm was lunging towards a mark almost inhumanly fast I tried to pull it back but I knew I couldn't, I wasn't in control of my limbs, my arm sank through the darkness as if it was a liquid. I tried to scream, but I couldn't even mouth a scream, I was a deer in the headlamps as I felt a darker angrier consciousness begin to leak into my mind before I came to my senses and tried to fight it

"So This One Will Resist?" an echoey voice reverberated inside my skull

"Yes. I. Will." I said struggling to even form these words in my mind

"Don't worry, you aren't alone" said a strangely reassuring voice as I felt a surge of strength pass through me as a I felt a hand on my shoulder. I roared my defiance to the voice

"It Will Take More Than The Sword And Another Human Who's Not Even A Companion To Stop Me" The voice said with a sneer

"No. It. Wont" I said this time straining because most of my energy was concentrated on fighting it. That hideous despicable voice………………..


	5. Shades Of Blue

Connie led in her bed, unable to sleep, her brain was filled with a million questions. Who was he? How much did he know? Was he a companion? Foremost in her mind was one in particular, did he win?

I screamed, I screamed until my throat was sore and I was rocked by spasms as my lips became specked with blue and stars danced before my shut eyes. I fell into the bed, what had happened I asked myself, my hand unconsciously reached up to brush my fringe out of my left eye when it ground against a bandage. I shuddered as the over-head fluorescent tube flickered into fitful life, I squinted as it blinded my overly sensitive eyes.

"my god, are you okay" asked a friendly but rather frightened voice. I forced my eyes to open against the blinding glare, I began to form words with my dry mouth before I heard a clatter and a muffled scream. I looked at her, my eyes still not adjusted completely but I could see that she was scared, her face was pale and her eyes wide as saucers

"W-what is Y-your eye colour?" she stuttered as fear racked her body

"Grey, why?" I asked, my brow furrowed in confusion. She didn't reply, just brought out a pocket mirror and threw it at me; I caught it rather more dexterously than usual and peered into it. I looked at a rather alien face which I knew must be mine, a bloodied bandage wrapped around its forehead with blond hair obscuring some of the weave, a crooked nose was encased in plaster. None of these things surprised me oddly; I felt like this was how I should look because of something, what did surprise me was the eyes that were staring back up at me one green one dark blue. I reached up and rubbed both of my new eyes in turn and swallowed deeply

" Ohh my god….." I trailed of as my eyes began to roll back into my head and I felt faint and tingly.

**Next Monday**

I walked into the class, head down, hood up. Aviator style glasses obscuring my view, but more importantly my eyes I needed to talk to Col's girlfriend, I somehow knew she had something to do with this.

" Can you take your hoo… oh its you…." Mr. Summers trailed off, obviously thinking better of it after what had happened yesterday. I stalked towards the chair next to Col's girlfriend. When the final bell went Col and his girlfriend walked through, the seemingly inseparable pair reached the chair.

"Mate, can you move?" Col said, with an irritated twang to his usually calm and collected voice.

"No" I said with an authority laden undertone. He gritted his teeth and I saw his muscles tense and worked out he was clenching his fists.

Connie saw Col clench his fists and saw a fight was building, she was confused until she realised who it was, it was the same person she'd tried to help yesterday. She gulped she thought what that could mean, she put her hand on Col's tense shoulder and gave him a pleading look, she felt him sigh and reluctantly loosen his fist. However she felt a surge of anger wash through her as she saw him turn away, a smug self-assured smirk plastered over his face. Col walked towards the other empty chair, realising that this was something important, she was glad for that. It would have been hard to explain last Friday without it sounding dodgy.

"Okay what do you want?" Connie asked quietly, ready to bring her shield to bear if it was Kullervo

"What the hell did you do to me?" He barked somehow gruffly and quietly at the same time. Connie felt a hateful stare pierce her even through his sunglasses

"W-what do you mean?" she asked, her voice cracking in fear. His response was silent but caused her more fright than anything he could have said, his eyes were different, one was green one was dark blue. It was the blue one that scared her, it was the colour of Kullervo.

I watched her eyes grow wide with fear with a sadistic grin on his face, I shuddered as I realised I was enjoying this, enjoying torturing her. I'd known it would scare her, make her fearful, what was happening to me?

"I need to talk to you in private, I cant learn everything I need to know, not here. " I said, my body racked with fear of my self and what I was becoming.

* * *

so umm what is this like? please R&R!


	6. Darkest Hour

The worst time to feel alone is when your surrounded by others, but as I adjusted my Aviator style sunglasses, I realised that was how I felt. I stifled a yawn as I walked through the dingy halls of the maths department, sleep was in short supply at the moment, however this was my own fault. My sleep was dogged by darkness, if not It's, then my own anger. I feel so small, like a rock in the middle of a storm, all I could do was keep my head above the surface. I felt my self being shunted into the class room. Someone near me cracked a joke, the corners of my mouth twisted slightly; it seemed that was as close as I could to a smile these days. How can a person smile, when he's a battlefield, good and evil clashing in his mind. He realised he'd sat down and opened his book without thinking about it, that was happening more and more, he guessed that was when his personality went under the sea. The darkness was always there, in his thoughts, focusing the anger. It was changing me and I know it, I hate It, but I cant stop it

Connie heard Agrand enter her mind, so she slowly raised her shield, she didn't want him to see what was happening. Sometimes a problem shared, isn't a problem halved

"Something is troubling you companion" He said, his voice layered with deep concern. When she didn't reply he began to worry, she was normally happy and playful, but today she was a shell. She was withdrawn and distraught, something was wrong. Connie bit her lip, partly because it helped her to think, and partly because it kept her in the physical realm. She'd found herself treading on thin line between reality and fantasy. It was strange, she could believe everything else was real, but not this. He might not have even been a companion, yet he was being dragged into this dark and ancient conflict. He was just an innocent bystander, this wasn't his fight.

She was rescued from her thoughts when her companions deep voice spoke to her again

"You're hiding something from me universal, please, let me help…" He let the sentence trail of as he pressured her mentally, concerned by her continued silence, he nuzzled her in an almost motherly way, before breathing out a drawn out sigh. He smiled protectively at her and watched as the corners of her mouth twisted into a smile

"Okay, Ill tell you" she whispered into her companions scaly ear as she slowly lowered her shield, letting the memories slowly filter through with a reluctant sigh. The first memories of the dark encounter a the hospital lapped up into the golden dragon's mind they were accompanied by as sharp an intake of breath as was safe for a dragon

"Why haven't you told the trustees?" Agrand asked, looking deep into her mismatched eyes. Connie looked away slightly before replying

"Don't say that, you sound like Evelyn" she said, with a wobbly smile, she tried to laugh, but she only succeeded in forcing out a squeak. Agrand saw she was changing subject, but didn't press her anymore, she had enough on her plate already

**The next Day of School**

I slammed through the blue double doors into the caffiteria, a sadistic glint in my dark blue hidden eyes. I knew the darkness (I'd heard Connie (Col's girl) call it Kullervo, but I don't actually give a damn) was still there, but it wasn't corrupting my thoughts, either that or it was being subtle. Right now, I didn't care, I was looking for trouble. And I knew that trouble was looking for me.

"Whats up with nail head?" asked a black shirt (Yr 11)

I turned around, a flash of anger blinding me " If your going to say something, say it to my face" I said, tensing my muscles, I'd taken to working out. I don't know why, It just felt right. I could see him forming a witty remark, and I was a powder keg. All I needed was the spark.

"Why don't you go crying to momma" He said in a mocking voice. I froze, Anger and Testosterone quenched, by pure blind hatred. Normally he'd launch himself on the prat, but suddenly he heard the voice

"Why Punch? Why Not Share The Pain?" It asked, surprisingly persuasively, he began to ask how. But he thought for a second and realised he knew how to. So he screamed, it was filled with pain and sorrow, like a swansong. The muscled boy fell off his chair, he wondered why the other boys were looking at the boy and not him, when he was awnswered

"They Cant Hear It, Only You, Him, And Me" It said

He smiled sadisisticlly, before continuing the wail, forcing the Black shirt to his knees. He was putty in his hands, a toy. He screamed bloody murder, and begged for mercy, mercy? This jock really had no idea what he was up against he thought cruelly. He carried on, until his victim suddenly slumped, and blood poured from his ears. The jocks eyes glazed over, and his breathing came in gasps.

Suddenly his body did something, he hadn't told it to, It looked at the jocks "crew" and spoke

"So, any other challengers?" His mouth sneered, they ran, know he was alone, with only his thoughts for company. Suddenly the realisation of what had happened hit him and he too sank to his knees

"What have I done?" He whispered to himself, before standing up, and making himself scarce


	7. Reboot

I burst through the door to my room and locked it with a dull click behind me. As the adrenaline began to fade from my veins I felt weak, I sat on the edge of my bed and just stared into space, eyes wide open. Shell shocked. One thought rushed through my nearly blank mind, a shot sentence once only attributed to films and games, now the only way to describe what was happening

"Shit just got real"

I paused for a moment and collected my scattered thoughts, what happened? Was he dead? What did I do? What if it happens again?

I knew only one place could help with these thoughts as I flicked on my computer; The Internet. I sat down in my chair and turned to face a mirror I saw my pale face looking back at me, a thin layer of pain and guilt pasted on my dull eyes. The green one stared back hopefully, the blue one seemed to roar its triumph at me. I thought about the noise for a moment and suddenly wished I hadn't; for I realised that deep down- May God have mercy on my soul- I wanted to feel that, that _power, _Once more.

I heard my computer chirp into life and I put in my password. I was about to call Connie but then I decided that was a bad idea, I couldn't explain it to her. I opened up MSN and began to talk to an old friend, Black ICE.


	8. OverExposure

I thanked Black ICE then made my excuses, feeling the heady thrill of triumph wash over my suddenly wide awake and animated body. My fingers blitzed across the keyboard and – despite being unable to touch type – every finger found its place as they danced over the ivory and obsidian dance floor of my key board. It felt… Right. I gained access, a long stretch of carefully crafted security measures bypassed for just a moment, a secret door held ajar just prior to a slam. I observed the site and felt deflated. No pictures, just text and a search bar, black on white. At the bottom, like the engraving on a tombstone lay a message from the sites founder

"To those loving souls who keep this place alive and secret, keep my brainchild from the hands of those businessmen, and our creatures from both discover and doom.

Yours, Tim-Berners-Lee, Phoenix companion"

The name stirred memories of half listened to history classes and the mutterings of geeks in the hallowed halls of the IT block.

"Ahh, What do I care" I muttered absent mindedly, before tapping "sound" into the archaic search bar. Three results appeared

**Sirens : ** A creature that features in many, many legends. Often depicted luring sailors to their watery graves, wheras they were in fact defending their nests from the ships. This led to widespread hunting… The Sound eminating from Sirens is said to be the most beautiful song in the world, but only the few siren companions have heard it…

**Weather Giants: **… Many weather giants specialise in the art of sound or sonic manipulations. These giants are often reffered to as sound tunnlers or thunder clappers.

**Banshees: **Banshees are known for their wailing, a sound so filled with anger and pity . It inflicts physical pain and even kill those who encounter without the benefit of companionship or a …

I pressed the final option and began to realise I'd somehow harnessed the power of such a creature. This was getting weirder and more convoluted by the minute. Then I thought of something. I tapped out some more letters, markedly less fluently than before. "Kullervo" appeared in the search bar

**Kullervo: ** A shapeshifter with incredible and mysterious powers, he/it has it's roots set in Iceland where it attempted to abduct one of the first universals. This failed after the abductee…

I read the paragragh and realised that I didn't need to know about whatever was inside my head, I'd probably have to add about 20 more sessions of therapy.

I read and read, scrolled and scrolled, typed and typed.

Then it hit me

"Oh shit" I bemoaned, eyes wide. I logged off and wrenched my computer the wall and pulled out the hardrived. I pushed it into the microwave, set it to full power and infinite time. I listened to the crackle of exploding electronics as a backing track as I pushed all my belongings near me during The Incident.

I sat on the edge of my bed and rubbed my hands through my hair as I contemplated my options.

Turn myself in – No, didn't fancy going to juvvie

Ask Kullervo for help – Might involve the selling of my soul and or life, Maybe

Pack Up, Prepare, Piss off – Yeah, that sounds about right

I began to pack immediately; BB gun, Knife, Survival Kit, clothes, money, fake ID. Anything useful. A mad scramble for useful items. Kullervo talked a few times, advising, plotting, sometimes just laughing maniacally.

"He seems like hes done this before" I lamented absent mindedly. He probably had. I listened. Hey? I reasoned, What did I have to lose?

Soon all I could do was think about where to go. I'd never make it to International Waters and I had no family or friends to speak of. So what of the Trustees? Maybe but I believe they'd turn me in. That left one person.

Connie

She _Was _going to help me.


	9. Reality Ensues

Three knocks reverberated through the house, shaking my soul's foundation. I'd slept fitfully. I dreamt of things that would no longer be, My wedding, my graduation, _My life. _I shuddered, trapped in the cold cocoon of my thoughts. My eyes flicked to my clock, 3 am. He jumped out of bed and grabbed his prepared kit. His eyes fell to the window as a disembodied voice filled the area.

"Aaron, please exit the house before we are forced to open it" Said the static laden voice. I opened the window and flicked open the curtains just slightly. It was clear. I caught the rear of the police car. No, van. Armed Response was proudly emblazoned on the back.

Shit

"Jump" Urged the voice calmly, as if this was something he dealt with every day. Opened the window, every creak sounding like loudspeaker feedback in the still of the night. My breathing came fast and shallow, my wild eyes scanning the area like a wolf searching for prey. I swung a leg over the sill, my mouth dry, expecting to hear the crack of gunfire each and every second. It never happened. I dropped, it felt like an age, like reliving my whole life. Every little misdeed and bad word I'd ever inflicted came back to me. I hit the ground with a grace I never thought I had. I looked up. I saw the policeman turn, I ran for him, praying with all my might I'd hit home. I slammed into the poor man. I flew gracelessly for a moment before collapsing lifelessly on the gritty pavement.

For a moment I stood, flush with victory. Then my elation stumbled. _Was he dead? _My eyes went wide and I rushed to his side, then illuminated by the failing orange light of street lamps, I saw his chest rise and fall slightly. I sighed; a tear of relief falling from my blood shot eyes, all the emotion of these past weeks in a single action. I brought the man inside and checked him over. I took his badge and gun. Hey, he wouldn't need it. I grabbed a bottle of sleeper pills from a medicine cabinet and grabbed a handful. I pushed them into his mouth and watched them sit there.

"Swallow, Damn you" I muttered lightly, pouring water into his mouth. I tried to manipulate his throat as he coughed unconsciously. Finally he swallowed the wash of water and red and white falling into his neck. I sighed, before looking outside.

Shit, had someone seen me?

I looked outside, for a moment, nothing happened. And then to my great relief nothing continued to happen.

I looked him over one more time, before stealing his keys. I walked outside, trying to be inconspicuous. Oh god, as if that was going to happen. I slammed shut the door and turned the key in the ignition. It spluttered and coughed into life. I buiried my foot in the carpet and was jerked back in the seat. I flicked various switches before the lights and sirens activated. I headed towards Shakers Row.

I laughed slightly, a nervous sound, filling the cabin. It turned into a cough slowly. I brought my hand away, there was a film on my hand. _Blood._ That turned my gut. Something was wrong. I looked up for a moment, only to see Malins Woods loom in the distance.

"What the f-" I began to swear, but the wheel caught a rut and catapulted the van through the night air. My face drained as the windshield shattered.

I awoke after a brief moment to the flicker orange glow of dancing firelight and the sounds of tortured metal screeching. I let the image from my eyes focus. I clenched my hands and feet. My whole body ached horribly but everything seemed in working order. I staggered from the twisted wreckage, miraculously unharmed. I wandered vaguely towards the lights of the town before the voice interrupted me

"Don't Follow The Road" It whispered conspiratorially. I shuddered but did as I was bid. After a while that stretched for eternity, like the cold night, day began to break over Hescombe. A lazy fog seemed to stretch over the landscape like a phantom sea, lapping over the shores of the city. I stalked the dawn, reaching 5 Shaker Road just as the pretty orange and purple clouds vacated the skies to be replaced by the omnipresent grey clouds of late autumn.

I climbed through an open window, expecting at any moment to be confronted by a dog, or mother. I slipped through into Connie's bedroom like a ghost, locking the door behind me, fumbling with the catch, my hands numb with equal parts cold, and fear.

He drew the curtains and picked up Connie's alarm clock. It was 5:23. He set the alarm for 5:30, set it back on the table and composed a note on her table, writing with a pink gel pen on crisp white paper from her notepad. Had I not been so terrified, It would've seemed ludicrous.

_Dear Connie_

_It's me, I'm fairly sure you can figure out who me is but hey, It's Aaron._

_I need to see you Right Now._

I paused momentarily before doubling back and underlining the last two words

_I'm outside your window. Don't scream, please. I've already done enough bad shit today. So yeah. Just, come out and talk to me, that's all I ask. After that do what you want._

I looked back at the clock, precious seconds ticking away. I quickly signed my name with a flourish before leaving the room near untouched. Satisfied I dropped from the window for the second time.

I waited, I watched.


	10. Alarm Bells

**Connies POV**

Connie stretched and yawned, In the blissful moment between waking up and remembering why she had set the alarm. Then she opened her sleep caked eyes and forced her still dozing mind into gear. Then the realisation hit her like a tonne of bricks.

_She hadn't set her alarm_.

"That's weird" She commented watching her clock blur into existence, trying to at least figure the time out. Her already puzzled mind added another kink to every explanation she'd come up with. She pulled the white sheet from the desk. _Well, at least she could figure something out now _She thought apprehensively.

_Dear Connie_

"Well, Duh" She muttered derisively

_It's me. _Her breath hitched in the back of her throat, _It couldn't be_ she hoped

_I'm fairly sure you can figure out who me is but hey, It's Aaron. _At this she threw the note down in disgust, bringing her hands up and pushing the balls of her hands into her eyes to clear the sleep. She looked around her room, noticing all the little things out of place, her bood running cold as a winter morning. She looked back at the note, trying to imagine how ludicrous he must've looked, writing with the pink pen. But her mind couldn't do it. She sighed, shaking slightly.

_I need to see you __**Right Now.**_

His handwriting was getting more and more ragged, as though someone was telling him to hurry up, or something was chasing him.

_I'm outside your window. Don't scream, please. I've already done enough bad shit today. So yeah. Just, come out and talk to me, that's all I ask. After that do what you want_

She shook heavily; this was worse than being hunted somehow. Maybe that was because she was trapped? She got dressed quickly, slightly disturbed by the fact he'd seen her in her night clothes. She had a hundred questions to ask Aaron, Unsurprisingly, none were good. She reached out with a pale, shaking hand to part the curtains slightly. He was sitting on a wall, pretending to be trying to light a cigarette. She closed the curtains as quickly as she'd opened them. _Had he seen her?_

**Aaron's POV**

I watched the curtain flit slightly out of the corner of my eye. I slipped from the wall, pocketing the lighter and walking to the edge of the cracked pavement, boring holes into the curtain with my eyes. It was only a matter of time. She'd be down soon, she would be too curious. I considered breaking in; the door didn't look that strong. But that wasn't going to be an option. I needed her to help me, atleast until I could find out how to get out of this alive and free.

I walked softly across the pavement, looking side to side to dodge the imaginary traffic of the early morning. I looked up briefly, unsurprised to see a gap in the curtain. I was happy not to see two mismatched eyes glaring at me, she was probably getting dressed or something. As I began to walk down the little stone path through their front garden, I heard a low click. I stood for a moment before realising it was the doors lock. As I got closer I saw a tired, dishevelled looking girl open the door to me.

"Come on in then" She said. I looked at her, thankful she had at least saved the shouting 'till we were inside. I walked inside, sighing happily as the warmth of the room heated my chilled bones, It's funny really, you forget how cold you are after a while.

I looked around the hallway, but was unable to get even the most cursory of glances before being led to her bedroom. I was almost aware how that would've looked to anyone else, I could've cared less. She shut the door behind us, pausing only to sit on her bed

"So…" She said, almost expectantly, as I blocked the door with a chair.

"So what?" I asked, testing the waters somewhat, unready to lose the one ally I had.

"So everything, what happened?" She asked, obviously bracing herself for the worst.

* * *

Just a quick thanks to IfIKnowYou, who Beta'd this chapter, hopefully stopping my terrible grammar! Anywhosle, click that review button, you know you want to!


	11. Exclusive Report

A/N: Just got over exams and a bitchtastic case of writers block. So, excuses over, I hope you guys enjoy my attempt at a continuation. Let me know in the reviews how you think it went. Please?

* * *

I walked inside, slow, deliberate steps carrying me inside and pushing her back. I passed through door and hallway, making a point to keep my eyes boring into the back of her head. I needed her to feel as on edge as me, I needed every little advantage I could get. As she turned round to look at me warily again, I realised what I had to do. I had to fight evil with evil. I knew that no-one in the right mind would even think of helping me. I'd have to make her feel bad for what she'd done, Connie was a good person, no doubt. I needed to use that to screw her over.

I sat down. It was something so simple, but for some reason it took something out of me. Something big. The fact of what I'd done seemed to catch up with me. I'd killed someone! I was a fugitive! Mythical creatures were real! The last one worried me like nothing else had. Angels and Demons?

"Shit, I'm going straight to hell" I muttered solemnly under my breath

"So, why did you come here? I know Kullervo did something, but you climbed into my window in the early morning! What's stopping me from calling the Police?" She asked

"Why _Havent _you called the police then? Is it because you're afraid? Afraid of what you did to me?" I said quietly, feeling deflated. I looked up at her. She was looking away. Out the window.

"Look at me" I pleaded. It must have been too quiet for her to hear. No. She'd heard what I'd just said. She was ignoring me.

"Look at Me!" I shouted, reaching forwards and grabbing her head, forcing it towards me. She shrieked a look of sheer terror frozen on her features. I followed her line of sight. She wasn't looking out of the window. She was watching the television. That pissed me off even more. I needed her help and she was watching some goddamn cartoon! I looked, just out of curiosity, to see what was so important to her. What I saw was… Unforgettable.

I was there. A picture of me. I was smiling and happy, that was a surreal experience. I was looking at the television and I was being talked about. Everything felt surreal though. Like a bad dream I couldn't quite wake from. What little water I had in my mouth disappeared.

"_A local town by the name of Hescombe was this morning rocked by tragedy as a school child was found in a critical state in a lunch hall. Wh- I'm sorry, we now have confirmation, that the child- Who, for legal reasons cannot be named- Has sadly died on the way to hospital. We now join a local reporter at the scene."_

"_Thank you. I am currently just outside a press conference, who have just confirmed that they have a suspect, whose photo was shown earlier, by the name of Aaron Davidson. A police operative was sent to investigate him, but he has not returned. He is missing, presumed dead. We have been told to warn citizens to under no circumstances approach, and to consider him armed and dangerous. We are now going to cut to inside the conference where I believe the suspects family is preparing to make a statement."_

The camera cut to the inside of a tent. My mum and sister were there. I shuffled closer to the screen. Mum looked incoherent, face pale as she just stared.

Julia shuffled closer to the microphone placed in front of her as she began to speak.

"_Aaron, if you're out there, watching this, I have one thing to say. Turn yourself in. I know this is a misunderstanding and that you-" _She choked a little, her voice beginning to crack as she spoke _"You didn't kill anyone. Remember that we love you and always will. Please, come home. For us?"_

As she turned away, I noticed that fresh tears began to fall from her eyes. I placed my hand on the screen, trying to be closer to her. To comfort her. The fear was gone now, just sadness remained. I had caused this. A first tear dropped from my eye, making a dark spot on the carpet below. It was soon joined by another, then another and another. I forced myself to stop. I- I couldn't be weak. I **Had **to finish this.

I looked back to Connie, my reddened, tear filled, mismatched ones meeting her wide open, sleep deprived, but still mismatched ones.

"Help me" I begged pathetically. Grovelling like the piece of dirt I was.


End file.
